Daily Archives: September 5, 2011

At The New York Times, Nicholas Kristof has written an Op-ed from Tripoli, where he has spoken with locals about American involvement in Libya. Almost across the board, the reaction has been the same: “Thank you, America!” or “Thank you, President Obama!”

It’s a really heartening piece that reminds us how important humanitarian intervention is, for, as Kristof says, “It is better to inconsistently save some lives than to consistently save none.”

The United States does not have enough support to block a General Assembly vote on whether to elevate Palestine from an “entity” to a “state,” but the administration has made it clear to president Abbas that the U.S. will veto any request presented to the U.N. Security Council to make a Palestinian state a member.

Last month, the State Department issued a formal diplomatic message to more than seventy countries, urging them to oppose any unilateral moves by Palestine at the United Nations.

A recent cache of documents released by WikiLeaks reveals new insights into Israel‘s diplomatic and political relations. The documents cover topics ranging from information about U.S. citizens living in the West Bank to dealing with non-violent protests in the West Bank.

A document from a 2006 meeting between the U.S. ambassador and Israeli foreign minister notes that the model for a secure Israel is keeping Israeli Arabs and Israeli Jews segregated.

More recent documents show that U.S. officials have been aware of Israel’s harsh methods of dealing with peaceful protests in the West Bank since February 2010 or earlier.

Hundreds of gay men and lesbians discharged under Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT) have contacted recruiters or advocacy groups saying they want to reenlist when the policy is repealed on September 20.

Former service members discharged honorably under DADT will, like all other recruits, have to pass physical fitness tests and prove they have skills the armed services needs. Some will have aged to the point that they will need waivers to rejoin.

If they are allowed to rejoin, they will not go back to their former jobs or ranks.

Arbuckle had ended up at a party in a luxury suite on the twelfth floor of the St. Francis during a break from a hectic filming schedule. Among the guests was Virginia Rappe, a thirty-year-old struggling actress.

Arbuckle and Rappe ended up together in a bedroom. A few minutes later, others heard her screams. Guests rushed in to find Rappe, fully dressed, writhing in pain on the bed.

Arbuckle said he had gone to the bathroom and found Rappe passed out on the floor. He insisted that he had carried her to the bed, and she had fallen off it. Rappe said, “He did this to me.”

When Arbuckle left, the other guests assumed the actress was just drunk, but her condition worsened until her friend took her to the hospital three days later and told the doctor Arbuckle raped Rappe. A medical examination found no evidence of sexual assault.

Nonetheless, a day later, Rappe died from peritonitis caused by a ruptured bladder. Arbuckle was charged with first-degree murder. Morality groups demanded he face the death penalty.

Arbuckle was never tried for sexual assault, but the notion that he raped Rappe endured because of the way the trial was reported. The star was portrayed as a fat brute who had pinned down his prey, rupturing her bladder. The actor faced trial three times. The first two trials ended in hung juries.

After a third trial in 1922, the jury took just a few minutes to acquit Arbuckle. “Acquittal is not enough for Roscoe Arbuckle,” the jury said in a written apology. “A grave injustice has been done.”

Roscoe Arbuckle spent more than a decade trying to make a comeback after being blacklisted from Hollywood. In 1927, he discovered Bob Hope in Cleveland.

Finally, in 1933, he was offered a feature-film contract. He said it was the best day of his life. That night, he died of a heart attack at age 46.

Hammarberg accused several E.U. nations, including Britain, Germany, Italy, Poland, Romania, and Sweden, of participating in the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency‘s Rendition, Detention and Interrogation Program, which has deeply violated human rights. Hammarberg said European governments were “deeply complicit” in U.S. counterterrorism strategies, including pervasive torture techniques.